ArrDrownHo! – Easily convert AVR to Arduino

Cap’n ArrDrownHo! is the lovechild of Ardweeny and Boarduino and he’s here to commandeer your AVR ships. ArrDrownHo! inherits pros of both and cons of neither. Pick up an AVR chip and start prototyping instantly on a breadboard! Want to replace that costly Arduino in your project with a cheap AVR, but don’t know how? Use the simple plug-and-play ArrDrownHo! piggybacked onto the AVR to act as interface for programming and provide power.

I made this when I wanted a simpler way to work with AVRs. Boards like Boarduino and RBBB used plated through holes which I couldn’t make at home. Ardweeny required soldering pins to AVR’s legs and provided very few features. So I combined the two and took the best of both worlds.

Here’s a pretty bad video of it in action:

Notes: This can only be used directly with ATmega8, ATmega168 and ATmega328. To burn bootloader or Arduino sketches, a programmer is required. You can check out my Instructable on how to make one. For serial communication or uploading Arduino sketch to an AVR(with bootloader), a USB-to-serial converter like FTDI or ATmega8u2 breakout board is required.

Edit: Modified board so resonator can also be used for timing! If using crystal, middle pin for resonator can be ignored. If using resonator, no need to solder capacitors C1 and C2.

Step 2: Fabricate the board

Download the eagle files on the Intro page of this Instructable. The board is double sided and plated through holes are optional. So you can send it to fab house or make it yourself. Print, etch, cut, drill and you’re done. Apply tPlace silkscreen using toner transfer.

Step 3: Solder vias

This step is required only if you fabricated the board yourself. If the board has plated through holes, you can skip this step.

Insert a thin wire in all the vias marked in the image and solder it on both sides. Cut off excess.

Keep in mind to keep all solder joint’s height on bottom side as less as possible, except for male and female headers, Why? Check out the last step “Step 8: Imperfections in design” for explanation.